“I think Crocop is still the same individual we saw in PRIDE. I think a lot of guys have seen enough tape on him to know that if you walk away from him or stand there in front of him you could be in for a dangerous night because he still has the same leg he always had. He has a lot of speed and quickness… Mirko is very good on his feet; I’m not bad on my feet either. Add in the wrestling that I have been working on, the jiu jitsu aspect, he has many more things to worry about. Once that cage door shuts every advantage is mine… I don’t see anywhere I don’t feel comfortable with CroCop – I can beat him in more ways than he can beat me.”

—Frank Mir in a pre-fight interview on UFC.com, transcribed via Fighters Only, talking about his upcoming fight against Mirko “Cro Cop” at UFC 119

Frank Mir sounds especially confident heading into this fight, whereas Cro Cop started making excuses the moment the fight was announced. As much as I question whether Mir can hang with Mirko on the feet, I wouldn’t run out and bet the house on Cro Cop if I were you. Mir’s right about one thing. The deck is definitely stacked in his favor.

Image via Sherdog

“There’s absolutely going to be a sequel. Part two is tentatively scheduled for New Year’s weekend, it may take place Super Bowl weekend. Either way, it will be in Vegas. Last time I defeated the myth, this time I’m gonna defeat the man…. The only thing [that's going to be] different is that I’m leaving there with the belt. That’s it. We were one minute away from pulling it off. Look, if I had beat him, I would have had to come back and beat him again anyways. So nothing in my career has changed. I was the best fighter before the fight, I’m the best fighter after it…. We’re not here to get along. I’m not here to be number two. It’s number one or let’s move on, and I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

—Chael Sonnen on ESPN MMA Live, via MMA Mania, confirming his rematch against Anderson Silva will happen on New Year’s or Super Bowl Weekend

And so it begins…

If Chael Sonnen’s info is accurate Silva-Sonnen 2 will either go down at UFC 125 on Jan. 1 or UFC 126 or 127 on Feb. 5. Both events are expected to take place in Las Vegas.

Image via Esther Lin for MMA Fighting

That’s the word from John Arthur, James Toney’s trainer of 12 years. Despite barely putting up a fight against Randy Couture at UFC 118, James Toney’s camp says they are not done with MMA. Whether or not they’re done with the UFC is a different story. Dana White made it pretty clear following UFC 118 that he wouldn’t promote James Toney or any other professional boxer again. Arthur says if that’s the case, then send us the release papers, James Toney is going to be a two-sport athlete with or without the UFC.

“Well, then Dana needs to send me some release papers,” he said. “If we don’t plan on fighting in the UFC, send me the release paper and we’ll take it to the next level. I know the UFC is the No. 1 [promotion] in mixed martial arts, but if Dana voiced that we don’t fight for him anymore, send me the release papers. I don’t have any problem with that.”

“He’s going to be doing groundwork and boxing,” Arthur said. “He’s going to be a two-sport athlete. The reality is that he wants to do it, and he will do it again. I think the next time I match him up, I’ll make sure I’ll matchup at least 50-50 equal. The cards were stacked against him.”

Without naming names, Toney’s MMA trainer, Trevor Sherman says there’s “plenty of interest” in Toney from other MMA promotions, so if the UFC does in fact release him, he shouldn’t have too much trouble finding fights. Whether or not he’ll be able to find $500,000+ paydays like he found in the UFC is a different question entirely, and if he can’t, will his desire to be a “two-sport athlete” suddenly disappear?

That remains to be seen, but for now Toney is shifting his focus back to boxing. He’s scheduled to defend his IBA heavyweight title on Nov. 5 in New Orleans. He doesn’t have an opponent yet.

Image via CombatLifestyle.com

A few links from our friends to help those last few hours of the work week fly by.

FIGHT! Photo Gallery: UFC 118 Edgar vs. Penn 2 | FIGHT! Magazine

Thiago Alves takes on John Howard at UFC 124 in Montreal | Cage Potato

UFC 125 takes place on New Year’s day at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas | Heavy.com

With Strikeforce’s permission, Brett Rogers returns to action against Ruben “Warpath” Villarreal at a W1MMA show on Oct. 23rd in Halifax | Watch Kalib Run

Ben Askren challenges Bellator welterweight champion Lyman Good for his title at Bellator 33 | Five Ounces of Pain

Takanori Gomi aiming for Frankie Edgar and his lightweight title | LowKick

EA Sports MMA will not be sold in Denmark because of a law banning energy drink advertisements | MiddleEasy

Dana White invited to speak to the prestigious Oxford University debate club. Previous speakers include Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Malcolm X, Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein | Versus’ MMA Beat

Inside the Mind of Mayhem | MMA Fighting

Roger Huerta talks Austin street justice on TMZ Live | MMA Scraps

Fighting Words with Mike Straka airs tonight HDNet at 8:30 PM ET followed by Inside MMA at 9PM ET.

Inside MMA Archive

Props: UFC.com

Quoteworthy:

“I think Crocop is still the same individual we saw in PRIDE. I think a lot of guys have seen enough tape on him to know that if you walk away from him or stand there in front of him you could be in for a dangerous night because he still has the same leg he always had. He has a lot of speed and quickness … Mirko is very good on his feet; I’m not bad on my feet, either. Add in the wrestling that I have been working on, the jiu-jitsu aspect, he has many more things to worry about. Once that cage door shuts every advantage is mine…. I don’t see anywhere I don’t feel comfortable with Cro Cop – I can beat him in more ways than he can beat me.”

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir breaks down his upcoming fight at UFC 119 with mixed martial arts legend and 2006 Pride FC Open Weight Grand Prix winner, Mirko Cro Cop. Naturally, Mir is aware that Cro Cop’s best chance to win the fight, which will headline the show in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sept. 25, is if he keeps it upright. Mir, meanwhile, is confident in his advantage on the ground. But Mir feels he’s better on his feet than the Croatian is on the ground, which could be accurate, but the difference standing is significant — Cro Cop has the power to end it at anytime … quickly. Is Mir a little too confident these days, thinking he could stand with the former K-1-level kickboxer, or will he come to his senses on fight night and waste no time taking it to the ground?

“People finishing fights is a big topic right now and that’s how I fight. You look at Frankie in both fights with B.J. and it seems that no one wants to fight right now. Fans see these guys like Edgar or these other bouncy wrestler types and fans are like “oh…he fights you everywhere,” when in reality they don’t fight you anywhere! They just want to hit you three or four times, shoot in for a takedown, stay on the ground for a minute or so then get back up. They want to wear you down because they don’t want to fight you on the ground either.”

– Cole Miller (pictured above) tells BJPenn.com that he’s not too impressed with fighters who “bounce” and takedown their opponents, including UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar. “The Answer” has been able to solve all of his opponents inside the Octagon — a hit list that includes BJ Penn (twice) — with the exception of a bigger, stronger version of himself, Gray Maynard. Edgar is willing to stand and trade, leveraging his fancy footwork, but he floats in and out, picks his shots and looks for takedowns. He’s certainly not a brawler, but a more intelligent mixed martial artist who uses his strength (wrestling) to carry him to victory. Is Edgar, and all of the other fighters who “bounce,” really avoiding a fight at the expense of fan enjoyment or just doing what needs to be done, knowing that the stoppages will eventually follow? For the record, Miller has finished 14 (more than 85 percent) of his 16 professional wins. Edgar? Nearly 40 percent (five out of 13).

Props: “MMA Live“

Quoteworthy:

“There’s absolutely going to be a sequel. Part two is tentatively scheduled for New Year’s weekend, it may take place Super Bowl weekend. Either way, it will be in Vegas. Last time I defeated the myth, this time I’m gonna defeat the man…. The only thing [that's going to be] different is that I’m leaving there with the belt. That’s it. We were one minute away from pulling it off. Look, if I had beat him, I would have had to come back and beat him again anyways. So nothing in my career has changed. I was the best fighter before the fight, I’m the best fighter after it…. We’re not here to get along. I’m not here to be number two. It’s number one or let’s move on, and I think that’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Here we go again. The Chael Sonnen hype train has already left the station, with about four to six months still to go before his rematch with UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. Sonnen feels he’s still the better fighter despite losing at UFC 117 via last minute, fifth round submission to the Brazilian. He may have a point: He squashed the “Spider” for more than four rounds, taking him down repeatedly and pounding on him relentlessly. Sonnen even got the better of the stand up exchanges during the few minutes/seconds that the pair were on their feet. But, at the end of the day, he did lose. And Silva revealed after the fight that he took it despite doctor’s advice to withdraw with a back injury. So is a healthy, and seemingly motivated Silva, Sonnen’s ultimate undoing or were those just excuses to cover up the fact that Sonnen has all the tools to untangle the Spider’s sticky web?